pan and scan

[ panuhn skan ]

/ ˈpæn ən ˈskæn /

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noun Television.

a technique for changing the aspect ratio of a wide-screen film, usually by selecting the significant section of each film frame and cropping the sides, so that it can be transmitted in 4:3 aspect ratio.

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Compare letterbox (def. 2).

Origin of pan and scan

First recorded in 1980–85; see pan², scan (def. 6)

OTHER WORDS FROM pan and scan

pan-and-scan, adjective

Words nearby pan and scan

Pan-American Highway, Pan-Americanism, Pan American Union, panamiga, Panamint Mountains, pan and scan, pan and tilt head, Pan-Arabism, Pan-Asian, Pan-Asianism, panatela

How to use pan and scan in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
While the beans are cooling and drying, melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Remove the roast from the pan and let rest for a minimum of 15 minutes.
Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries|Carla Hall|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Mr. Spurrell came down to see a horse, and we shall be very glad to have the benefit of his opinion by-and-by.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
They were eaten too quickly, in long gulps of four-and-twenty hours at a time.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
He watched the man put some bread and milk in a tin pan, and set it down on the floor of the basket.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum